Why a new house burns faster than one built 40 years ago!

The safety of our clients is always very important to us. Our longer known clients remember we used to mail out smoke detector batteries to our clients every October as a reminder to change your batteries. Now-a-days more and more smoke detectors are hard wired or have permanent batteries, so we thought this year with National Fire Prevention week coming up October 7-13 we wanted to give you a few tips to help keep your family safe and educate on why being prepared is even more important in new homes. 

Do you know how long it takes for a house to be destroyed if it catches fire?

In the past few decades, you needed to be out of your house in less than 17 minutes if it caught fire. But these days, you’d have significantly less time to escape: no more than three minutes.

Why have homes recently become that much more flammable?

Two reason for this change in timing.

• Newer homes burn quicker
• Newer home furnishings are more flammable

Newer Homes 

The first reason is that we have larger square foot homes that feature tall ceilings with open floor plans instead of the compartmentalized layouts in older homes. When walls are removed it allows for easier smoke and fire to spread throughout the home. By opening up our floor plans it allows more oxygen to be available to create an environment for fires to burn faster.

Home Furnishings

Another factor is the materials we use in our homes both to build and to decorate them are more synthetic. Many home building supplies have changed significantly in the last few years. Some for the better, but some have changed because of cost and availability. You will find that some building materials include polyurethane and hydro-carbons which is a solid form of gasoline causing these newer materials to burn faster. In experiments with lath and plaster walls found in older homes they withstood fire breaches almost 3 times longer than gypsum board. Furniture and accessories that we decorate our homes are also a factor. Home furnishings, textiles and plastics have been slowly evolving from natural materials to mostly synthetic. You find synthetic materials in the backing of your carpet, stuffing in your mattress and pillow, the drapes. Polyurethane foam has replaced cotton as the padding found in most upholstered furniture. Although not unsafe on their own these synthetic fibers do burn faster. UL Tests show that when ignited the foam produced heat after 4.3 minutes compared to the cotton which produced peak heat in 15 minutes. 

Fire Safety Reminders
Firefighters encourage homeowners to make sure that smoke detectors are working properly all the time. Families should also create and practice an escape plan that prepares all family members for the event of a fire. If you are considering building a home you may also benefit from investing in a sprinkler system as this could completely put out a fire or at least prevent the fire from spreading and causing more damage.

Other Tips For Homeowners On Fire Safety

• Keep flammable items away from heaters and fireplaces
• Space out furniture to slow the spread of fire
• Limit the number of furniture in small rooms
• Invest in a sprinkler system
• Change batteries of smoke detectors every six months
• Keep doors closed as much as possible to keep fire from spreading quickly from room to room
• Make sure that all furnaces, appliances and electrical wiring are working properly